Iowa County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the U.S. state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,709. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and largest city is Dodgeville. When created, it was part of the

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

. Iowa County is part of the Madison, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The county organized under the

government in 1830. It was named for the Iowa tribe.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water. It is drained by tributaries of the Pecatonica River, which has its

headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

in the county. The highest point in the county is West Blue Mound at 1,716 ft. above sea level. The lowest point is the Wisconsin river at the Grant County line at 667 ft. above sea level.

Rivers and streams

* Harker Creek

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 14 * U.S. Highway 18 * U.S. Highway 151 * Highway 23 (Wisconsin) * Highway 39 (Wisconsin) * Highway 78 (Wisconsin) * Highway 80 (Wisconsin) * Highway 130 (Wisconsin) * Highway 133 (Wisconsin) * Highway 191 (Wisconsin)

Railroads

Wisconsin and Southern Railroad The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad is a Class II regional railroad in Southern Wisconsin and Northeastern Illinois currently operated by Watco. It operates former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) and ...

Buses

Iowa County is served by Lamers Connect which offers two buses a day, one traveling east to Madison and

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

and one west to

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

via its Dodgeville stop.

Airport

* Iowa County Airport (KMRJ) serves the county and surrounding communities.

Adjacent counties

* Richland County - northwest * Sauk County - northeast * Dane County - east * Green County - southeast * Lafayette County - south * Grant County - west

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 23,709. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 10,905 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.8% Asian, 0.5%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.9% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 1.9%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 22,780 people, 8,764 households, and 6,213 families residing in the county. The

was . There were 9,579 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.70%

, 0.17%

, 0.11% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.01%

, 0.11% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. 0.33% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 33.6% were of German, 17.2% Norwegian, 11.6% English, 11.3% Irish and 7.9% American ancestry. There were 8,764 households, out of which 34.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.50% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.10% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.06. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.10% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.70 males.

Politics

Iowa County historically tilted Republican for much of the 20th century. However, it has swung heavily to the Democrats since the 1970s. It has supported the Democratic presidential candidate in all but one election since 1976, and is one of the most Democratic counties in Wisconsin. However, Donald Trump's 2024 performance of over 45% was the best by a Republican since

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

lost the county by only 28 votes in 1988. This was also the first time since 1988 that a Republican held a Democrat winner of the county to a single-digit margin of victory.

Parks and recreation

The county has several parks, including Arena Pines-Sand Barrens State Natural Area, Pine Cliff State Natural Area, Blue Mound State Park, Tower Hill State Park, Black Hawk Lake Recreation Area and Governor Dodge State Park.

Communities

Cities

* Dodgeville * Mineral Point

Villages

Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

* Avoca * Barneveld * Blanchardville (mostly in Lafayette County) * Cobb *

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

* Hollandale * Linden * Livingston (mostly in Grant County) * Montfort (mostly in Grant County) * Muscoda (mostly in Grant County) * Rewey * Ridgeway

Towns

* Brigham * Clyde * Dodgeville * Eden *

* Linden * Mifflin * Mineral Point *

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

* Pulaski * Ridgeway * Waldwick *

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

Census-designated place

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...

Unincorporated communities

* Clyde * Coon Rock * Helena * Hyde * Jonesdale * Middlebury * Mifflin *

* Pleasant Ridge * Waldwick *

Ghost towns

* Adamsville * Dirty Hollow * Minersville * Pendarvis

Notable people

* Gilbert L. Laws, Nebraska Secretary of State and US Congressman

References

External links

Iowa County government website

Iowa County map
from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Iowa County Historical Society

Iowa County Humane Society
{{authority control 1830 establishments in Michigan Territory Populated places established in 1830 Madison, Wisconsin, metropolitan statistical area